Tag Archives: family

The multi-generational home is growing, and some make the choice to live with family for economical reasons.

An August 2016 Pew Research report shows that “a record 60.6 million Americans — almost one in five – lived in multigenerational households in 2014, defined by Pew as a having two or more adult generations or grandparents and grandchildren. This is about a 30% increase in just seven years; in 2007 there were 46.5 million people living in multigen households…” (Forbes. “Multigenerational Living is Back and That’s a Good Thing”)

“…’The economic downturn in 2007 to 2009 may have driven families to come together under one roof out of need, but today this increasing multigen living is by choice,’ says Donna Butts, executive director of Generations United, a group dedicated to improving lives of children and older adults through intergenerational programs and services.” (Forbes. “Multigenerational Living is Back and That’s a Good Thing”)

This weekend, enjoy movies with the family or watch dogs surf better than people! Besides the usual summer (and year-round) activities you can do in San Diego (view the Top 20 Must-Do Activities in San Diego list here!), check out the events going on today through Sunday:

Unleashed by Petco Surf Dog Competition

At the Unleashed by Petco Surf Dog Competition, the most fearless dogs will jump on their boards, paddle out and surf! There will be more than just surfing going on, though; there will also be available on Saturday: dog food garden (food & treat samples), kid zone, beginners agility course, free video and photo booth (with green screen), dog adoptions, off-leash play area, and more.

El Cajon Dinner and a Concert

From May through September, the El Cajon Dinner and a Concert (formerly Concerts on the Promenade) take place every Friday from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Prescott Promenade near the corner of Main St and Magnolia. Entertainment includes rock, western, rock-a-billy, country, caribbean and Spanish flamenco; tonight’s entertainment features The Jones Revival. Bring a chair/blanket, food and drinks.

Baja By The Sea

Baja By The Sea will display the culinary and cultural heritage of Baja California, as well as its tourism attractions and infrastructure. The event will exhibit nine aisles, five of them will be represented by each city of Baja California: Tijuana, Tecate, Ensenada, Rosarito and Mexicali; each city will promote its main cuisine, hotels, travel agencies, museums, and recreational spaces.

OzCon International

The 51st annual Oz convention includes Oz quizzes for all ages and levels, the Oz Treasure Hunt, the Oz Research Table, the Oz Dealers Room, Oz Show and Tell to share your discoveries, panel discussions, displays, and after-parties. And you can get your cOZplay on for the OzCon costume contest.

Watermelon Days

Admission includes watermelon feeding with the camels, the Pollywood bird show, contests, a watermelon-carving contest, and exhibits. The 32-acre working ranch and camel milk dairy is home to a large herd of camels, donkeys, horses, sheep, dogs, cats, turkeys, exotic birds, and two ranchers. Runs Friday through Sunday.

Affordable housing coming to Escondido

“Construction is under way at a new apartment project in northern Escondido that will provide housing to low-income families and disabled veterans.

The 36-unit development, named Avocado Court, is expected to open in February, based on information from Community HousingWorks, a non-profit that provides affordable housing and is the builder of this project.

The community’s location is North Broadway and East El Norte Parkway, a corner the non-profit said was “vacant” and “blighted.” After the city of Escondido bought a site on that corner using $250,000 in government grant money, Community Housing Works picked up four surrounding parcels to make the future Avocado Court community, according to project details.

The North County Times reported the total cost of the project is $11.7 million, $3 million of which is from Escondido…”

Some great ideas for San Diego county residents this weekend from the Union-Tribune San Diego:

Art Alive

Have you ever been so inspired by a piece of art that you rushed home and designed a floral arrangement based on it? What, you haven’t?

Well, some local floral designers do this every year for Art Alive and it’s pretty spectacular. The weekend event is the San Diego Museum of Art’s biggest fundraiser for good reason. Roses, daisies, ranunculus, tulips and many other types of plants and flowers are interpreted to resemble art in the museum’s collection. And with patrons often showing up in floral dresses, the whole event is nothing but lovely.

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Flower After Hours is from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park. $15 and $5 for ages 7 through 17. (619) 232-7931 or sdmart.org.

Last chance: Butterfly Jungle

Every year, San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park sets up a warm and colorful exhibit featuring thousands of butterflies flying around. And after this weekend it will be gone until next year.

So grab your most colorful clothes and a camera and get ready to get intimate with some Monarchs and Blue Morphos. I admit, I once thought it was sort of gross to have butterflies touch your hair and arms, but I recently went to Butterfly Jungle and it was pretty great, kind of like walking in a fairy tale, minus the bad guys.

Celebrate the fruit from which it’s made at Fallbrook’s 26th annual festival. Along with booths and booths of guacamole and other avocado-related treats, there will also be contests, carnival rides, live music and dance and a lot of people wearing green.

California had the third biggest decrease among U.S. states in the number of homes in some stage of the foreclosure process, CoreLogic reported. As of February, 2.4 percent of the California homes with a mortgage, or about 160,000 households, faced the possibility of foreclosure.

That’s down 0.6 of a percentage point from January of last year, when 3 percent of homes were in the foreclosure process, CoreLogic reported.

CoreLogic’s February numbers showed also that:

6.7 percent of the state’s mortgaged homes, or about 458,000 households, were 90 days or more late on their house payments. That’s down from 9 percent in February of last year.

Banks seized 154,212 homes through foreclosure in the 12 months ending in February.

Nationwide, banks seized 3.4 million homes through foreclosure during the past 3 ½ years – and 862,418 in the past year alone.

An additional 1.4 million U.S. homes, or 3.4 percent of all homes with a mortgage, were in the foreclosure process.

That’s down from 3.6 percent in February of last year, when 1.5 million U.S. households were in the foreclosure process.

The five states with the highest proportion of homes in the foreclosure process were Florida, 12 percent; New Jersey, 6.6 percent; Illinois, 5.4 percent; Nevada, 5 percent; and New York, 4.9 percent.

The five states with the lowest proportion in the foreclosure process were Wyoming, 0.7 percent; Alaska, 0.8 percent; North Dakota, 0.8 percent; Nebraska, 1 percent; and Montana, 1.4 percent.

“The overall foreclosure inventory is decreasing because sales (of bank-owned homes) were up in February,” said CoreLogic Chief Economist Mark Fleming. “With the spring buying season upon us, the inventory may decline further.” This article is from the OC Register: “Calif. foreclosure rates dropping“.

With the current residential real estate market for buyers in the throngs of a literal feeding frenzy, due to the rising infestation of investor buyers, the buyer looking to buy a home for their family to live in is having massive competition.

While inventory is currently contracting and sales are on the rise, six months from now we will know for sure if the market will be positive–meaning that values will finally be officially on the rise. There are some areas that are seeing an increase in values.

I have several listings that range in the low price ranges of $200’s, to $600K — and these are seeing multiple offers from investors and owner-occupied buyers. This makes it tough on the buyer purchasing for a family as a first-time buyer who do not have a lot of money to put down. There are up to 10 offers in a matter of a few days on almost all properties now.

This scenario should continue making this a very frustrating time for the first-time, FHA government & conventional low down payment, or Military Veteran no down payment buyer. This group has to compete with the “all-cash” and 20%+ down payment conventional loan buyers, who usually win due to the restrictions on condition of property by the government loans like FHA and VA, or the low down conventional investor guidelines.

So, how does the low-money-down buyer get in a position to win the property for the buyer who has to compete with the big money buyer? Make sure you are interviewing your perspective agent on how this process will be handled. In this market, this is necessary not only for sellers, but also for buyers. Repairs or a price reduction in a short sale can be done and I can show you how.

Experience is GOLDEN!! Properties having no equity to several liens, a bankruptcy, etc. will not close with an average or most experienced agents, whether representing a buyer or a seller. I have helped several listing agents while I represent a buyer get the property sold in these scenarios.

Whether buying or selling, you owe it to yourself to call me now. The time is now to buy and you will have the most success and satisfaction with the agent who can maneuver through the maze while leveraging you the best deal. I am here to serve you to make sure you WIN the LOTTERY!

A recent article by MSN Real Estate focused on a survey by the National Association of Business Economics, covering new-home building trends in 2012. Read further to get the gist of the article, and head on over to MSN’s website for more details.

The housing industry has taken a beating these past few years, but a glimmer of hope is on the horizon. Housing starts are expected to increase 10% in 2012, according to a survey by the National Association of Business Economics.

Not surprisingly, though, the Great Recession curtailed many of the extravagances that buyers desired before things went south. Homebuyers want different things from their homes today. The watchword is flexibility — things such as rooms that serve multiple purposes and homes that can accommodate either “boomerang” children or aging parents.

We talked to homebuilders and industry watchers to find out what will be behind the front doors of homes built in 2012. How do these features compare to your wish list?

Easy access

Single-story homes

Grab bars in the bathroom

Fewer stairs and more ramps

A bigger garage — for more than just cars

To accommodate storage and avoid clutter

“Man caves” — additional family area

The ‘resource center’

Fewer rooms dedicated to one purpose

Nooks for household work or homework areas

Homes within homes

About one-third of American adults are living in the same household with another generation

Increase in dual master suites / apartments

Really ‘green’ homes

Greater energy efficiency

Solar panels to power the house

Home plans that fit today

Direct access to laundry areas/rooms

Large pantries off the garage for bulk items from warehouses

Drop zones for keys, mail, cell phones

The house that flows

Open floor plan — increases the perceived size

Great rooms opening to the outdoor areas

Infill is in

“Infill” homes within existing towns

Emphasizes affordability, public transportation access, job centers

All of this information is from MSN Real Esate’s article. Read more of this article by Christopher Solomon, of MSN Real Estate here: “8 New-Home Trends for 2012.”

Fixed mortgage rates started the year at or near their all-time record lows, according to market data published by Freddie Mac Thursday.

The GSE reports the interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 3.91 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending January 5, 2012. That’s down from 3.95 percent the previous week and matches the record low set just two weeks earlier.

This marks the fifth consecutive week the 30-year rate has come in below the 4.00 percent mark. To put things into perspective, last year at this time, it was averaging 4.77 percent.

The current average rate on a home loan with a 15-year fixed term is just two basis points above its all-time low of 3.21 percent, which was hit in two weeks during the month of December. A year ago, the average 15-year rate was at 4.13 percent.

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, attributed the declines seen among fixed rates to recent data reports which indicate the housing market and manufacturing industry are showing signs of improvement.

“Pending existing home sales in November jumped 7.3 percent, nearly five times greater than the market consensus forecast, to its strongest pace since April 2010,” Nothaft noted.

“In addition,” he said, “construction spending rose 1.2 percent in November, supported by the residential sector which exhibited its fourth consecutive monthly increase. Similarly, manufacturing expanded in December at the fastest pace in six months.”

Freddie Mac’s report shows the 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) came in at 2.86 percent (0.7 point) this week, down from 2.88 percent. This time last year, the 5-year ARM was averaging 3.75 percent.

The GSE’s survey puts the 1-year ARM at 2.80 percent (0.6 point). It was the only loan product included in the GSE’s study to head higher, up from 2.78 percent last week. Flip the calendar back 12 months, and the 1-year ARM was averaging 3.24 percent.

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Heal from Foreclosure

For a Compelling Guide to weaving through ALL the experiences of a hardship with applications for coping personally and with family: having to sell Your Home is unbelievably lightened! Anyone that would never consider selling their home, this is a MUST read.